Commuting in the rain basics.

Taking to the rain.

I'll be honest, it's hard for to get motivated for a commute by bike ride when the weather gets too rainy, cold, or hot.

A small secret though, once you do it, it’s not that bad at all. A few thing that you need to consider for rainy days and/or winter riding on your commute.

Two best tips for rainy and cold weather riding:
~ Dress in layers so that you can peel off a layer at a time if you get too hot.
~ If you are dressed and already hot before even leaving out your door, you are overdressed!
Have on enough clothes that you can "slightly" feel is cold as you walk into it since your body will heat up during the ride and create a barrier of heat to keep you warm. This slightly lighter way of dressing allows just enough heat to escape to keep you from overheating on your commute.

Preparing your person:
Eye protection
Eye protection will protect your eyes from the cold, rain, and can also help to produce better overall lighting situations on your ride. Many glasses these day come with multiple lens for all types of lighting situations and a standard 3 lens kit should come with the following: Brown/Black lens (bright sun), Amber/Yellow lens (low light/fog), & clear lens(night time).

Outerwear
Look for a good riding jacket &/or pants. One that has vents and is wind & water resistant or even wind/water proof. These
items can range in pricing from $50 - 300. a piece and while you do get what you pay for, most products in the $70-150 price range really do a great job and will last you a long time.
Remember that cycling pants and jackets are tailored especially for cycling by giving longer sleeve & back panel to keep you covered when you are in the bar reach position.
Another nice feature is a jacket by which the sleeves will unzip leaving you with a cycling vest.

Footwear
Most cycling related shoes have vents built in and in the winter and rain this can be pretty unpleasant, but a few tips to keeping your feet warm is to look for items like: wool socks, toe shoe covers, or even full shoe boot covers.
(Prices rage from $5 - 40)

Gloves / Hats / Masks
Like jackets and pants, try to find gloves that will help to keep you warm by being wind/water resistant or proof.
Keeping in mind that the more bulky the glove, the harder it is to use the controls on your bike.
Skull caps and helmet covers help keep you warm by keeping the cold air off of your head.

Preparing your bike.
Lights
Lights are a must and are usually required by law. Most localities require a front and rear light and just like on a car the front is white and the rear is red.
There are two types of ways to view lighting on your bike, to been seen by, and to see by.
While there are many types of lights on the market, LED's are now the most widely used because of their small size, high visibility, and long last run times.
Lights will range from $10- 100. This is not a place to go super cheap and in my experience the best lights to buy are usually between $20-30 price range. They tend to last a longer, be waterproof, are very bright, and have better over all construction.

Fenders / Racks
Using fenders & racks on your bike adds another layer of protection to you as it helps to keep the water & debris on the road off of your person.

Be (extra) alert
Riding in the rain or the winter sets you up for new hazards to encounter.
Items like leaves, wet road stripes, steel plates and grates, and icy surfaces are all very slippery. So take the ride a little slower and be a little more "alert" than normal as just like in a car your reaction times will be slower that under normal conditions.

Bike / gear clean up
Try to dry off your bike with at least a quick wipe down with a dry cloth, paying close attention to the chain and brake surfaces.
Keep your chain well lubed, usually with a "winter/wet" weather chain lube.
And wash your helmet, gloves, etc on a fairly regular basis as you will still sweet even on the coldest of rides.